9th Feb 2022, 9:02 PM – Senate Mitochondrial Donation Law Reform (Maeve’s Law) Bill 2021 - in Committee - Stage 2 licences

The majority voted against amendments (1) to (11) and (13) to (55) on sheet 1519, which means they failed. They were introduced by Queensland Senator Matthew Canavan (LNP).

Senator Canavan explained that:

In the amendments that I will be moving tonight, I will propose that we should seek to remove the stage 2 licences from this bill. These amendments would not stop mitochondrial donation research and trials from continuing. As I've outlined, they've got 10 years of those to go—at least. These amendments would not stop that from occurring and the progression of this technology happening. All that agreeing to this amendment would mean is that, at the conclusion of those trials and research, the government of that day, or members and senators at that time, would put forward additional legislation which would then govern the regulatory framework for clinical practice trials.

This was a free vote (also known as a conscience vote), which means our senators voted according to their own beliefs rather than strictly along party lines.

What does this bill do?

According to the bills digest:

Mitochondrial disease is a group of conditions that can cause serious health issues and, in severe cases, can cause death in childhood. There is no known cure for mitochondrial disease.

Mitochondrial donation is an assisted reproductive technology (ART) that can assist women to avoid passing mitochondrial DNA disease to their biological child. This technology is not a cure for mitochondrial disease but is rather a way to prevent children from inheriting mitochondria that can cause mitochondrial disease.

Under the current legislative framework, mitochondrial donation is illegal under the Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act 2002 (Cth) and the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002 (Cth). The Mitochondrial Donation Law Reform (Maeve’s Law) Bill 2021 (the Bill) amends relevant Acts and associated Regulations to make mitochondrial donation legal for research, training and human reproductive purposes. The overall aim is for women at risk of passing on mitochondrial disease to have reproductive options for biological children without the increased risk of their child having mitochondrial disease.

Primarily the Bill makes changes to ensure that it is no longer an offence to create, for the purposes of reproduction, and under the relevant mitochondrial donation licences, a human embryo that:

• contains the genetic material of more than two people and
• contains heritable changes to the genome.

Read more in the bills digest.